Page 115 of Scoring Eden

“About my parents?”

“About all of it.” He sighs. “I’m not pissed that you lied to the investors, only that you lied to me. I don’t know… I just thought you had more respect for me than that.”

Rip out my fucking heart, why don’t you?

“If it’s any consolation, I’ve felt like a piece of shit for it every day.”

He laughs. “As you should.”

“I really am sorry.” I take the pan of pasta sauce off the stove and slump back against the island. “Are they kicking me off the team?”

He puffs a heavy breath, saying nothing, but his silence is answer enough.

“Oh.” My free hand finds my hair and claws at the roots. “Yeah, I get it.”

“I’m sorry, Alex. Truly. Nothing is confirmed yet, but it’s not looking good, and my hands are tied.” I hear the scrape of his chair as he falls into it. “It’s not even that you lied about the relationship. It’s the stories that have been posted today.”

“What stories?”

“About how you’ve been soliciting sex from a vulnerable single mother. Really goes against Purview’s family-friendly reputation.”

Oh, that motherfucker.

“But it’s not true!” I yell. Then quieter, I say, “I’ve never paid Eden for sex.”

“I believe you, but I’m not the one you need to convince. Look, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you’re no longer welcome at practice on Monday. The team wants you in for a meeting in the morning. It’ll be the only chance you get to plead your case, but if I were you, I’d prepare yourself to turn in your kit.”

“Fuck.” My fist hits the countertop with a resounding thud. “How am I gonna explain to the kid that I can’t help him with his school project?”

“Did you hear what I just said?”

“Yeah. Eden’s at risk of permanently losing her son, and I’ve done the one thing I swore to Macon I would never do.”

“What’s that, son?”

“Break a promise.”

“Just come to the meeting on Monday, okay? If anyone can charm their way back onto a team, it’s you.”

I once thought losing my place on the team was the worst thing that could happen, but it’s staggering how little I care about that right now. All I can think about is Macon, how scared and confused he must be feeling, how much he just wants to come home. And Eden… I’ve never seen someone so in pain. So broken.

“Shit. I’ve gotta go. I’ve gotta figure this out.”

“I watched you, you know?” Coach cuts in before I have a chance to hang up. “With Eden. The way you looked at her, how you always knew where she was whenever you were in the same room, the little glances over your shoulder just to check in. You reminded me of how I looked at my wife before she died.” He pauses, releasing a ragged sigh. “I can’t believe you were pretending all this time.”

“That’s the thing, Coach.” I exhale a resigned chuckle. “I don’t think it was ever pretend.”

TEXT THREAD BETWEEN ALEX AND ZORA CLARKE, ESQ.

Alex: Hi, Zora. You told me to get in touch once Eden had been served with the sole custody papers.

Zora: I’ll have my assistant set up a meeting for Monday.

Alex: I understand that you’re busy, but this really won’t wait until Monday.

Zora: It’s a slow process, Alex. Waiting two days won’t put you at a disadvantage.

Alex: He’s had a judge approve an emergency temporary motion for custody. We need to get this overturned now.